The use of handles for lifting and transporting various objects is well known. For certain applications, it is desirable to use a handle that is light in weight, yet provides a stable and durable mechanism for lifting heavy objects. This is particularly true in the case of roto-molded plastic containers which are designed for the transport and handling of instruments and electronic equipment in hazardous environments such as those typically found in military, geophysical and news service applications.
In the above application, the weight and size of loaded containers necessitate that two or more handles be distributed about the outside of the containers. Said handles are normally required to lie flat against the sides of the containers when not in use. When the container is being carried by the handles, however, the handles are required to stop with their bales perpendicular to the container wall so that the fingers of people lifting the container are not compressed between the handle bales and the walls of the container. Such a handle needs to be capable of lifting heavy-duty containers in the normal upward direction while experiencing heavy side loads and outward pulls. It is also desirable that the handle be capable of quick assembly during commercial production and/or disassembly to replace parts at the customer's site.
A handle developed by the applicants of the present invention is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,553. Handles of this type, although providing the required strength with less weight than prior conventional handles, are not without their drawbacks. First, the metal bale requires precise bending in two directions and must be heat-treated. For strength and economy, high carbon steel is used which must be plated. Finally, as many as twelve parts must be assembled to make the final handle. Although the performance of such handles is good and achieved at low weight, the cost of manufacture is relatively high.